Most Useful Forms Of Content For Making B2B Online Purchases, August 2014 [CHART]

General consumers aren’t the only ones who value a good customer experience when shopping online. Business-to-business (B2B) end-user buyers—nonprocurement business professionals who purchase products and services for work-related activities—have arrived. And as a result of their personal digital shopping habits, they want a consumerlike experience when researching and making business purchases online as well, according to an August 2014 study by Forrester Consulting for Intershop.

B2B end-user buyers worldwide were most likely to begin researching work-related purchases on search engines (35%) and manufacturers’ websites (27%), and 18% got started on consumer sites. What content are they looking for once they get there? The research found that those polled worldwide expected a mix of “traditional” digital and rich media content. Technical brochures and specification sheets (61%) and instruction manuals and how-to documents (46%) were the most helpful forms of content, followed by video. Read the rest at eMarketer.